Device for stripping liquid from a moving thread



Aug. 20, 1957 w. R. KOCAY ETAL 2,803,052

DEVICE FOR STRIPPING LIQUID FROM A MOVING THREAD Filed Dec. 5, 1955 INVENTOR. W/TOLD R. mam; HOWARD BUNDEGAARD DEVICE FOR STRIPPENG LIQUID FROM A MOVING THREAD Witold RrKocay, Stamford, and Howard Bundegaard, Rowayton, Count, assignors to American (Iyanamid Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Maine Application December 5, 1955, Serial No. 550,989

' 2 Claims. (Cl. 2s-6e This invention relates to a device adapted for stripping liquid from a moving elongated article, for instance, a moving thread and the like. The device is described hereinafter, for brevity, sometimes as a liquid-stripping device or merely as a stripping device. It also functions as a positioning guide in that it serves to maintain the thread in a desired position.

In the production of filaments, threads and other flexible, elongated articles, a liquid treatment is frequently given the article in order to adapt it for further processing or to impart specific characteristics to the treated articles. to some other processing operation. An example of the latter is in the manufacture of synthetic yarns or threads, e. g., polyacrylonitrile yarns. For instance, in the production of yarns or threads formed of a polymer of acrylonitrile by wetor dry-spinning operations, the yarn is frequently washed with water at one stage or another in the process of manufacture. Thus, in the production of a polyacrylonitrile yarn by a wet-spinning method, it is the practice in many cases to improve its physical properties while it is continuously moving through a bath of a hot, aqueous liquid, e. g., water alone, maintained at a temperature ranging, for example, from about 70 to 100 (3., usually about 90 to 99 /2 C. Such a process is described in, for instance, Cresswell U. S. Patent No. 2,558,730, dated July 3, 1951. The stretched or oriented thread then may be given a further treatment, e. g., with an antistatic agent, before it is dried on continuous converging rolls or by other suitable means. The treatment with an antistatic agent prior to drying the wet gelled thread is described in, for example, Cresswell U. S. Patent No. 2,558,731 also dated July 3, 1951.

In such processes as are described and claimed in the aforementioned Cresswell patents, as well as in other fiber-forming processes, it is desirable and important from a practical standpoint that a maximum amount of liquid be removed from the moving thread before it is dried so as to minimize the amount of water that has to be removed while the thread is passing over the aforementioned converging rolls or is being dried by other suitable apparatus. The removal of adhering Water or other liquid also is important in order that the dried thread will have optimum uniformity in its physical properties.

The problem of effectively removing the adhering liquid from a moving filament or'thread is most pronounced at high spinning and stretching speeds. As has been indicated hereinbefore, it is essential that molecular orientation along the fiber axis be introduced into the synthetic yarns by stretching the freshly formed fibers or filaments subsequent to extrusion through the openings of a spinnerette. When this stretching is performed in a liquid medium such as water, part of the stretch bath liquid is carried out of the bath by the outgoing thread into further processing stages, e. g., an anti- In many cases the treatment may be incidental static bath. The disadvantages of this, which have been briefly mentioned hereinbefore, can be obviated by the use of a suitable liquid stripping device in order to remove the excessliquid from the advancing thread.

The present invention is one solution to the problem; and a primary object thereof is to provide an improved liquid-stripping device.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a liquid-stripping device which acts directly on the moving thread or yarn, or other flexible, elongated article being processed, and not on any substance or base on which the said article is moving.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus for improving the technique of recovering liquids employed in treating yarns and other elongated articles as a result of the improved separation of treating liquids that is obtained by using the device or apparatus.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a device that will improve the so-called wet pick-up by a continuous-filament yarn of certain liquid media, e. g., liquid antistaticcompositions, due to the fact that the adhering liquid from a previous step is stripped from the yarn before it is immersed in a liquid antistatic bath.

Another object of the invention is to reduce costs and to improve the efficiency of drying a wet fiber or thread by providing a device that effectively strips liquid from the exterior of the thread Without physically damaging it; and thereby lowers the heat requirements for drying since there is less liquid to evaporate.

Still other objects of, the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following more detailed description and the accompanying drawing.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention are attained by the stripping device herein described. The novel features of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, will be more readily understood from the subsequent description of a preferred embodiment of the invention and the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a liquid-stripping device of the invention and showing one element of the device in a raised or non-operating position;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of part of the device shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown by way of illustration in Fig. 1, a device adapted for stripping liquid from a moving thread and the like comprising a support 10 having a notched thread guide 12 mounted on one side of the support. This thread guide may be of any suitable form but should be adapted for the passage of a moving thread therethrough and also through the apex 18 of the notch in the guide. It functions both to position the thread and also to cause accumulated drops of liquid that are stripped from the thread to drip downwardly instead of being carried along with the thread.

The inverted notched thread guide 12 shown by way of illustration in the drawing is a ceramic coning guide and comprises a main body portion 14 and a flange or rim 16 attached thereto and adapted to abut the support 10. The apex 18 of the guide 12 is the uppermost point of the notch. The flange 16 provides suitable means for detachably holding the guide 12 to the support 10, for instance, by screws 20 and 22.

A rod 24 is mounted transversely rearward of the thread guide 12. It functions to direct the thread and to position it with respect to the apex 18; and it also aids in forming globules of liquid on the moving thread that can be readily removed by the notched guide 12. The rod 24 is held in position by suitable means, for example, by the clips 26 and 28 (Fig. 2). Both the rod 24 and the thread guide 12 are so positioned with respect to each other that the moving thread, after passing over the rod 24, is under slight tension as it passes through the apex 18 of the guide 12. More particularly it may be stated that the rod 24 is at an elevation approximately on a straight line with a line through the apex of the inverted, notched thread guide 12.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, both the guide 12 and the rod 24 are formed of suitable smoothsurfaced, wear-resistant material such as material formed of a wear-resistant ceramic composition, wear-resistant glass or the like. The ceramic material known in the trade as Alsimag is especially suitable for use. Other materials of which either or both the guide 12 and the rod 24 can be formed include porcelain, stainless steel, hard rubber, phenolic-resin moldings, etc., but in general these are somewhat less satisfactory than Alsimag.

Preferably the support 10 (first support) is pivotally mounted on a second support 30, for instance, on the pivot 32, so that the guide can be swung clear of the path of the moving thread passing through the openings 44 and 46 in the aforementioned supports 10 and 30, respectively. In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 1, the support 10 is pivotally mounted so that it can be swung upward and thus facilitate threading up of the device.

The support 30 on which is pivotally mounted the support 10 may be held in a suitable bracket 34 by means of screws 36, 38, 40 and 42. The entire assembly then may be positioned in a suitable relationship with other parts of the spinning apparatus so that liquid can be stripped from the moving thread prior to subsequent processing. For instance, it can be positioned in an upwardly sloping extension of a stretch trough such as is disclosed and claimed in Cresswell U. S. Patent No. 2,- 558,734, dated July 3, 1951; and, after passage through the device, the moving thread then can be led over an antistatic roller applicator prior to drying.

We claim:

1. A device adapted for stripping liquid from a moving thread and the like comprising a first support and a second support, each of said supports having openings therein adapted for the passage of a moving thread therethrough without touching the sides thereof, the said second support being pivotally mounted on the said first support so that it can be swung clear of the path of the moving thread passing through the aforesaid openings; an inverted notched thread guide detachably mounted on one side of said second support in such position that the moving thread can pass through the apex of the notch; and a rod positioned transversely rearward of said thread guide, said rod being detachably mounted on the side of the said first support opposite the side on which the said second support is pivotally mounted, and said rod being at an elevation approximately on a straight line with a line through the apex of said inverted notched thread guide.

2. A device as in claim 1 wherein the notched thread guide and the rod are each composed of smooth-surfaced, wear-resistant ceramic material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,690,522 Bauman Nov. 6, 1928 1,771,923 Hendrickson et al. July 29, 1930 2,118,623 Sarfert et al. May 24, 1938 2,624,933 Quick et a1. Jan. 13, 1953 

